The Maharashtra Housing Department is poised to present a significant proposal to the Cabinet, advocating for the inclusion of residents from upper floors of “chawls” in the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Schemes (SRA). This marks a notable policy shift, as the current SRA guidelines only extend rehabilitation eligibility to ground-floor chawl occupants during redevelopment. The department anticipates tabling this proposal within the next month or two.
A Housing Department official clarified that the proposed changes are exclusively for chawls, not broader slum areas. Under the draft proposal, a chawl is defined as a structure erected on private land prior to 1976, verifiable by property tax records and non-agricultural documentation. To qualify for rehabilitation once a chawl’s eligibility is established, residents must demonstrate continuous occupancy since before January 1, 2000. Distinguishing them from typical slums, chawls are characterized by common building entrances, individual water connections, and dedicated toilets on each floor, unlike slums where units often have separate entrances and typically lack property tax payments.
Mumbai’s suburban areas alone are home to an estimated 4,500 chawls, accommodating approximately 350,000 residents, with dense concentrations in localities such as Borivali, Malad, Kurla, Ghatkopar, and Mulund. Many chawls in the suburbs are modest, predominantly single-story buildings on private plots, frequently surrounded by informal settlements. The redevelopment of these adjacent slum areas has often stalled because upper-floor chawl residents were previously excluded from rehabilitation benefits.
Vinod Mishra, a former BJP corporator, expressed confidence that this decision will accelerate the modernization of older chawls. Ashish Shelar, Guardian Minister for Suburban Mumbai, confirmed recent discussions with officials on the matter, reiterating that the proposal aims to extend SRA benefits to both first-floor and upper-floor chawl residents.
While multi-story chawls on larger land parcels in Mumbai’s island city have readily attracted private developers, smaller chawls in the suburbs have faced challenges due to a lack of developer interest in fragmented land pockets. Officials anticipate that integrating these smaller chawls into the SRA framework will significantly expedite their redevelopment. It was also highlighted by an SRA official that while government records formally identify slum pockets, chawls are not categorized similarly.
